Some Bonds are Never Broken
by Kleineganz
Summary: Sequel to "Bonding." Arthur arises after fifteen-hundred years. Merlin is grateful to have his Alpha returned, but is confused as to why Arthur has arisen when it doesn't appear Albion is in need of him.
1. He Will Rise Again

Merlin trudged along the roadside as he did every week, passing by the ancient Lake of Avalon, slowing and silently nodding before starting to move on…when he felt _something_. A twinge, a tingle in his senses he hadn't felt before.

Merlin stopped and turned towards the lake, staring at the ruined tower on the island where Arthur lay. Something was drawing him there. Was it time? Merlin didn't think that Albion had any great need of Arthur but… _yet_ …something was drawing him to Arthur's side.

Merlin divested himself of the bags he carried and ran to the water's edge. He had no dragon to summon to carry him across so he just cast a spell to allow him to walk on water. Or rather run. He ran as fast as his old legs could carry him. His heart thumped in his chest, tears streaked his face, hoping against all hope that Arthur had indeed risen.

Merlin reached the island and made his way towards where the boat carrying Arthur's remains would have landed. There was no sign of a boat, the wood would have disintegrated long ago, but Merlin had hoped some of his armor may have remained. He saw nothing but grass and reeds along the shoreline. Merlin frantically searched up and down the entire shore and found nothing. He sank to his knees in grief, feeling foolish for letting his heart taunt him like that.

"Why do you weep so, old man?" came a voice from behind him. Oh, _that voice_. It couldn't be. His mind was playing tricks on him again. He started when a firm hand gripped his shoulder.

Merlin swung around quickly to see…"Arthur!"

Without thinking, Merlin launched himself up and embraced his King, his lover, _his bond-mate_ , weeping and sobbing into his shoulder.

Arthur gently pushed him away with a confused look. "Do I know you?"

Merlin stifled another sob. "So…sorry. I forgot. Aging spell."

Merlin's eyes glowed gold as he softly spoke a spell and he was young once again.

"Merlin!" Arthur's eyes smiled as he recognized his bond-mate. "I hardly recognized you."

"I missed you, Arthur," Merlin embraced Arthur again. "So very much."

Arthur returned the embrace this time, whole-heartedly. "How long has it been?"

Merlin took a deep breath. "Nearly fifteen-hundred years, Sire."

"Fifteen-hundred?!" Arthur exclaimed. "I know I like to sleep in, but that's ridiculous!" Arthur laughed and Merlin finally smiled.

Arthur cupped Merlin's face, wiping away his tears with his thumbs. "So, you've been alone all this time?"

Merlin nodded. "You are my bond-mate. My destiny. There could never be another."

"Oh Merlin, I'm sorry to have kept you alone so long," Arthur said. "But wait…why am I even alive? What happened? It's all gone a bit fuzzy."

"Come, let me tell you," Merlin said, leading Arthur into the ruins so they could sit. Merlin explained what had happened, how Arthur died and what the dragon had told him.

"It was then I finally understood why you were called the _Once and Future King_ ," Merlin explained. "It gave me hope of seeing you again one day."

"And how is it that you are still alive?" Arthur asked. "Were you also asleep all this time?"

Merlin shook his head. "No, apparently I'm immortal. That's what the Druid's name for me means. _Emrys_. Immortal."

Arthur embraced him again. "My gods Merlin. You really have been alone then. I'm…so sorry. How in the world did you survive going through your heats for so long?"

Merlin blushed. "That's why I was using the aging spell. When my body is old like that, I no longer go into heat. It was easier than having to take suppressants all the time."

"That explains why I didn't recognize you, even your scent was different," Arthur said.

Merlin snuggled his head under Arthur's chin. "I'm so glad to have you back."

Arthur just held Merlin, stroking his back gently. "Why am I back then? If I wasn't to awaken until Albion had a need of me again?"

Merlin shook his head. "I honestly don't know. The world is a bit of a mess, but there are no impending disasters or wars that I am aware of. Twice before I thought perhaps you would awaken in the last century, _but_ you didn't."

"What happened then?" Arthur asked.

"There were two world wars," Merlin explained. "It was awful. So many died, so many others suffered needlessly. Some days it felt like the entire world would end. It felt like we needed you, so desperately, but you did not rise during either of them."

"And there are no impending wars?" Arthur asked. Merlin shook his head. "Not that I am aware of."

"Perhaps whatever enchantment had kept me sleeping, wore off?" Arthur speculated.

Merlin shook his head again. "No, I don't think so. Perhaps you need time to prepare before it happens?"

Arthur nodded. "That seems likely. How much has the world changed since last I saw you?"

"You will not believe everything at first. I'm sure a lot will come to you as a shock," Merlin said. "For one, there are no more Alphas or Omegas. They all died out nearly a thousand years ago. The entire world is now populated only with Betas."

"Well then I don't have to worry so much about fighting off other Alphas, my Love," Arthur teased. Merlin chuckled.

"Technology has advanced quite far since our day," Merlin continued. "You can travel across the land in vehicles that propel themselves, without the need of horses, at speeds you couldn't imagine. We have devices that allow you to communicate over vast distances and all the knowledge of the world is at everyone's fingertips."

Arthur looked stunned, but quickly recovered himself. "What about sorcery?" Arthur asked.

"Magic has practically died out as well," Merlin confirmed. "I believe I am the last one left, unless the rest hide it like they used to in Camelot. Even the Druids are all gone. So are the Trolls and Goblins, and Dragons. Here I am, a Dragon Lord, with no Dragons to command."

Arthur sighed. "I do regret following my father's path on the views of magic. If I had known what you could do..."

"That is long forgotten and forgiven, Love," Merlin said, stroking Arthur's face. "Come, let's go back to my apartment. You'll need a change of clothes."

Merlin led Arthur across the lake and Arthur laughed as they first stepped foot onto the water and walked upon it as if on dry land. "Merlin, you're brilliant!" Merlin smiled, happy he didn't have to hide his magic from Arthur anymore.

Soon they were walking along the roadway, Merlin having retrieved the bags he'd dropped earlier, heading back into the town where Merlin had settled himself. He kept a small, humble apartment, conjuring just enough money to satisfy his most basic needs.

There he'd been keeping a collection of clothing that would fit Arthur. In fact he had an entire trunk full, having collected them over the centuries as styles and tastes changed. The most recent set he'd purchased included a pair of blue jeans, a polo shirt, a pair of boxer briefs, socks and a pair of Nikes.

"This is what they wear these days?" Arthur looked skeptically in the mirror. "I feel like a peasant!"

"Most people dress casually, Sire," Merlin shrugged. "I do have a set of fancier dress clothes as well, but they aren't suited for every day."

Arthur closed the gap between them. "You really don't need to keep calling me _sire_ you know," Arthur said smiling, before leaning in to kiss Merlin thoroughly. "My Omega," Arthur growled feeling the heat stirring in his loins as he drank in Merlin's scent.

Merlin's Omega instincts kicked in and he whimpered and bared his neck to his Alpha and Arthur happily sunk his teeth into the tender flesh.

Lapping tenderly against the bite mark he asked. "When do you expect your next heat, my Love?"

"I honestly don't know. I've been blocking it for fifteen-hundred years now…" Merlin said.

"May I take you now anyway?" Arthur asked, needing his mate's consent.

"Oh, yes Arthur," Merlin practically moaned. "I have waited for you for so long…"

Merlin helped Arthur divest them both of their clothing and even though he wasn't in heat, Merlin was still self-lubricating a little bit. He went to a drawer in his bedside table and took out a bottle of lube to help the process along a bit, tossing it to Arthur.

"What's this?" Arthur asked.

"Something better than oil," Merlin offered as explanation.

Merlin lay himself down on the bed, looking up at Arthur expectantly as his Alpha was covering his very noticeable arousal with the lube.

"Oh, you're right, this is better," Arthur groaned as he stroked himself. "That's brilliant."

"You're brilliant," Merlin groaned, getting on his hands and knees, presenting himself to his Alpha.

"No, on your back," Arthur said gently. "I want to make love to you, not just rut like a dog in heat. Not today."

"Yes, Alpha," Merlin said as he turned over, getting lost in his Omega state.

Arthur crawled between Merlin's legs, licking and sniffing his way up Merlin's body, taking in his Omega's scent, growling softly. Merlin once again offered his neck and Arthur gratefully accepted, licking the earlier bite before placing another one beside it as he sank into Merlin's slick heat.

Merlin arched his back in pleasure, as he wept tears of joy to be joined with his Alpha again. He murmured a mantra as Arthur plunged his turgid length into Merlin over and over. _Missed you. Love you. Please never leave me again._

Arthur made love to his Omega, growling softly into his ear. _You're mine. Always mine. Need you. Want you._ _Want to put my knot in you._

"Yes, Alpha! Please…please knot me. Need your knot…" Merlin cried. Arthur slowly pushed his knot inside Merlin, and continued to thrust shallowly, rubbing the knot against the Omega's prostrate.

They came hard, together. Merlin arching off the bed as his Omega cock spurted over his stomach, and Arthur shot his first load deep inside Merlin, howling loudly during his release.

They collapsed into each other's arms, tied together for at least a half-hour while Arthur would continue to release more semen inside his lover. Merlin held Arthur close, afraid to let him go. He once again began to weep.

"Shh, shh, it's alright Merlin. I'm here. I'm here now," Arthur said soothingly. "I'm so sorry you had to be alone for so long. I should have been there with you, to protect you."

"You know I can protect myself," Merlin sniffled. "I just missed having you in my life. You're my bond-mate and it was so very lonely without you."

"Well, I am here now, and we're together again," Arthur reassured him. "Tomorrow we can start fresh, and figure out why I finally awakened."

Merlin nodded. "Tomorrow. Tonight you're mine and mine alone."


	2. Will Wonders Never Cease?

The next morning Merlin awoke, wrapped around Arthur's perfect form. Tears of joy once again welled in his eyes. He couldn't believe it, he had his bond-mate back. His perfect, imprinted bond-mate. Now why Arthur had risen was still a mystery, but Merlin decided that first he had to get Arthur acclimated to the modern world.

However the world, modern or otherwise, could wait. First he wanted to just stare at that perfect, beautiful face, as he breathed in Arthur's Alpha scent. It had been so good to let his Omega nature come to the fore again, and to mate with his love. He breathed in the Alpha scent more deeply and Merlin began to feel an old but familiar tingling in his loins. _Uh-oh_.

Arthur slowly awoke and looked up at Merlin through sleepy eyes, a smile forming on his lips. "Good morning," he rumbled. Once his eyes began to focus he seemed to notice the depth of emotion in Merlin's eyes. "Hey now, no more tears love. I'm here, we're together again."

Arthur gathered Merlin up into his strong arms, holding him close. Merlin nuzzled at Arthur's chin, letting out a little whimper of need. Arthur made an amused huff. "What, again?" He joked, despite already being achingly hard due to the arousing scent coming off Merlin. Arthur took another, deeper sniff. "Oh gods Merlin, you're going into heat, aren't you?"

Merlin whimpered again and nodded. "Sorry, I haven't been in my younger form for centuries now, and now with you here…" Merlin trailed off with yet another whimper.

Arthur sat up, throwing the blankets off both of them. "Shh, my Love. I'm here. It'll be alright. I'll give you everything you need…just…do you have a chamber pot?"

Merlin nodded. "It's called a toilet now, just go into that room there and use the low porcelain bowl with water in it. There's a handle that will flush it away when you're done."

Arthur looked confused but shrugged it off, padding naked towards the bathroom. His bladder was near bursting but it was going to be difficult considering how hard he was currently. "Couldn't your heat have waited until I'd had a chance to piss?" Arthur groused jokingly.

Merlin whimpered again.

"I'll be as quick as I can, love. Hang in there." Arthur called from the bathroom, seeing what Merlin had meant about a toilet and tried to relax himself enough to be able to empty his aching bladder. After finally succeeding, Arthur located the handle and pushed it and jumped back, startled at the loud whoosh from the toilet, as it magically rinsed itself clean.

"That is amazing! That's a wonderful enchantment, love," Arthur praised his Omega.

"Not an enchantment," Merlin said through gritted teeth. "I'll explain later. Need you now. _Please_."

Arthur rushed to the side of his mate. "Shh. I'm here. Spread yourself for me, love."

Merlin quickly complied, spreading his legs wide to allow Arthur to kneel between them, the Alpah's cock once again achingly hard. Arthur quickly sheathed himself into Merlin's already slick heat, not needing lubrication as they had the night before. Merlin was now producing copious amounts on his own.

"Oh Arthur, yes. That's what I need. Please, need more…" Merlin began pleading.

Arthur instinctually knew what his Omega needed, and began pounding his cock into Merlin's needy hole, sliding in and out in quick, hard thrusts. "Love you Merlin. Love how you feel around my cock. So tight and hot. Always so wet for me."

"Yes Arthur…always for you…only for you," Merlin groaned with each hard thrust.

Arthur continued rutting roughly into Merlin, knowing that's what he needed at this point in his heat. There would be time later for proper lovemaking when they were both too exhausted to handle anything more vigorous.

Soon Arthur's knot began to swell and Merlin was begging for it, with a desperate need to be tied to his mate. Arthur pushed the knot in as gently as possible, knowing that it still always caused Merlin some initial pain. Once the knot was fully inserted it took only a matter of moments before Merlin came, and Arthur lurched forward, sinking his teeth into Merlin's bonding gland as he began to empty his seed into his Omega.

After the first moments of ejaculation passed, Arthur laid down on his side, shifting Merlin so he'd be more comfortable until the knot subsided and they could separate. Arthur gently stroked Merlin's sweat dampened hair, pulling him into a gentle, loving kiss. "You are so good Merlin, still so perfect for me. I love you so much. I think I would have gone insane not having you by my side for so long."

"I very nearly did a few times, but then I remembered that you would need me again, and I found the courage to go on," Merlin said with a smile. "I love you too, my Alpha."

"You're very strong Merlin. Strongest Omega I ever knew," Arthur said lovingly. "My heart aches to know how long you've been alone. I am so sorry, Love."

Merlin cuddled closer to Arthur. "So glad you're back."

Merlin's heat lasted a record seven days, probably due to the fact he hadn't had one in centuries. By the end of that week he and Arthur were both complete messes. Thankfully Merlin had had enough food and other supplies in the house because neither of them could leave while the heat persisted.

Now that it was finally at an end, they both slept deeply for nearly an entire day. Once they were rested, Merlin took some time to show Arthur some of the wonders of the modern day world, beginning with indoor plumbing and the joys of a hot shower.

"This is simply marvelous," Arthur said with a laugh as Merlin gently washed his back. "This is so much better than all the work we had to do to haul in tubs and water."

"We?" Merlin asked in an amused tone. "I do believe the servants did all the work."

"Yes, you're right," Arthur said. "I supposed I was a bit spoiled, being the King and all."

"You were a right royal prat sometimes," Merlin teased, before wrapping his arms around Arthur. "A prat that I fell in love with."

"And you're clearly much less of an idiot than I had always thought you were," Arthur teased back. "An actual idiot would never have survived all those centuries alone."

"So, do you think you can survive without the castle and the servants?" Merlin asked. "I'll teach you how to cook…"

"If you've been able to survive, I think I can manage," Arthur said cheekily, as he stepped out of the shower dripping wet.

"Oi! Let me turn off the water and grab a towel first. You're making the floor all wet!" Merlin grumped. "Don't expect me to clean that up."

"Didn't you used to be my manservant?" Arthur teased.

"Yeah, before we bonded," Merlin said. "I'm not going back to that again, _Alpha_."

Arthur chuckled. "Alright, alright, I'll just have to learn I suppose. So what do I use to dry the floor?"

Merlin wrapped a towel around himself and headed towards the kitchen, grabbing a mop from a closet. He came back and handed it to Arthur. "Just run it along the floor to pick up the water, then bring it over to the toilet and use that handle to pull over the rollers and squeeze out the water."

"Seems easy enough," Arthur shrugged, getting to work. "This isn't difficult at all. Why were you always grousing about cleaning my floors?"

Merlin groaned. "That's because fifteen hundred years ago we didn't have mops like that. I had to go on my hands and knees with a scrub brush and a bucket, remember?"

"Oh, right," Arthur nodded. "I think I'm going to like this modern era."

Once they were dressed, Merlin took Arthur out of the apartment for the first time since bringing him there over a week before. Merlin really needed to stretch his legs after spending over a week in bed. The village he lived in was rather quaint, and he'd chosen to rent an apartment here merely because of its proximity to the Lake of Avalon. There were a number of villages that dotted the area and every few years Merlin would pick up and relocate, just to keep people getting too suspicious about an old man who seemingly never died.

Not far from his apartment was a small café and so Merlin started there, ordering for Arthur. When the waitress delivered their coffees and pastries, Merlin smirked. "You're going to love this. Wish we'd had it back in Camelot. You'd have been a lot easier to get up in the morning if you'd had this to drink."

Arthur took an experimental sip and grimaced. "It's…bitter."

"Maybe you're a cream and sugar man then. Here try this," Merlin suggested and added some cream and sugar into Arthur's coffee and stirred it. "Try it again."

Arthur looked warily at the cup as he lifted it to his lips and sipped again. "Hmm, yes, much better. What is this called?"

"It's called coffee. Comes from a bean that's roasted and then ground and brewed. Came across from the New World some four hundred or so years ago," Merlin offered as explanation.

"Wait, what _New World_?" Arthur asked confused, still sipping his coffee.

"Oh right, you missed that bit too," Merlin began. "So much has happened in the past fifteen hundred years, it will take ages to catch you up. They discovered two entirely unknown continents across the ocean. Some bloke was looking for a faster way to get to India and ran into them along the way."

"Really? Two entirely new continents?" Arthur's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah, and one of them was part of the British Empire for a while," Merlin continued. "The power and reach of Albion once reached across much of the known world."

"Really? Why did I have to miss all that?" Arthur grumped teasingly. "I find all this destiny stuff incredibly tedious. It kept us separated literally for ages, I miss out on some of the best bits of history, and you were forced to be alone for all that time. Doesn't seem right."

"Well, speaking of destiny," Merlin said. "We need to figure out why you're back now. I know you're the _Once and Future King_ , but I highly doubt the Queen would willingly step-down just because you say you're King Arthur. Not to mention you and I are just considered myths. Your court historians did a shit job at recording everything that happened back then."

"So currently a Queen sits at the throne of Albion?" Arthur asked.

Merlin nodded. "Queen Elizabeth II, and they don't call it Albion. Generally it's referred to as the United Kingdom."

"Well how boring is that?" Arthur made a face. "When I'm King again, that will be my first decree, to change the name back to Albion."

"I'm not sure it will be all that easy," Merlin tried to explain. "The Queen doesn't even hold any power anymore. She's merely a figurehead. The Prime Minister and Parliament hold all the power." Merlin's eyes then went wide as he came upon an idea.

"I think I know how we get you back into power," Merlin beamed. "You need to become the next Prime Minister. I know the destiny says King, but in the current political climate that wouldn't do any good. In order to be in a position to save Albion from whatever impending doom is brewing, you need to be Prime Minister."

"I really don't like the sound of that. Prime _Minister_? Sounds so…religious." Arthur said with distaste.

"It's not a religious title at all actually," Merlin explained. "It's purely political and you'd have to be elected by the people."

"Elected?" Arthur said, sighing. "This isn't going to be easy, is it?"

Merlin shook his head and grinned. "Nope, but you always loved a challenge."

Arthur nodded. "That is true."

"We need to pick up some things from the shop," Merlin said. "Then when we get back to my flat, I'll have to start teaching you how to read modern English so you can read up on the fifteen hundred years of history you missed."

"You have that many books in your flat?" Arthur asked.

"No, of course not," Merlin explained. "I think I mentioned it yesterday, that all the knowledge of the world is at everyone's fingertips. We have devices that are interconnected all over the world and they access vast storehouses of knowledge that way. It's all pretty incredible."

"Goodness Merlin, will wonders ever cease?" Arthur said with awe, sitting back and taking another sip of his coffee.


	3. A Crisis Revealed

Six months later finds Arthur and Merlin living in a nice flat in London. With Merlin's powers, neither of them require a job, as he is able to conjure up money whenever they require it. Merlin has even figured out how to conjure up believable identification for both of them, so they are able to have bank accounts and even a car.

Merlin has gone through two more heats since Arthur's return, and as bond mates they couldn't have felt closer, although Merlin continues to be disappointed in his continued inability to conceive pups with Arthur.

Arthur has been spending much of his time learning about all the history he missed, along with acclimating himself to modern day life. Arthur quite enjoyed the modern world and all its conveniences, although it took him a little getting used to not having people automatically show him deference for being King or at the very least for being an Alpha.

Being in a world completely filled by only Betas was somewhat disturbing. Arthur found he missed having other Alphas to spar with.

Arthur also found the rising trends in diseases in humans disturbing. Sure there had been a fair amount of illness back in his day, and infant mortality rates were lower. But he was sure that cancer and other such diseases weren't nearly as rampant. He couldn't help but be drawn to reading more and more about various outbreaks of diseases across the world.

"Merlin," Arthur addressed his mate one afternoon, walking into their living room. "How long have all these diseases been happening, cancers and such?"

Merlin was stretched out on their couch with his laptop on his lap and Arthur sat next to him, causing Merlin to have to reposition himself a bit to make room.

"Oh cancer has been in the human population for ages," Merlin shrugged. "I think the earliest descriptions of cancer go back over three or four thousand years."

"How common was it back in our day?" Arthur asked.

"Oh not very common, and it was easily enough treated with magical healing," Merlin replied. "Since magic has died out, cancer has spread more rapidly through the human population."

Arthur nodded. "I see. So you think the lack of magic, and lack of healing magic, is the cause of it?"

Merlin shrugged. "I dunno. Both magic and Alphas and Omegas seemed to all die out around the same time."

"That can't have been a coincidence," Arthur speculated. "Did cancer and other diseases seem to spread after that?"

Merlin nodded. "Now that you mention it, yeah."

"Have you ever wondered why I have never been able to impregnate you?" Arthur asked, seriously. "When we were first mated I dreamt of having many pups with you, but it never happened."

"I always thought it might have something to do with my magic, or maybe even my immortality," Merlin sighed, putting down the laptop and snuggling himself into Arthur. "I really wanted to have your pups too, my Love."

Arthur hugged Merlin close. "I just can't help the feeling we're missing something."

...

The very next day an urgent news bulletin began broadcasting across the world, via television, radio and the internet.

 _"The leader of the United Nations is about to address the world with an urgent announcement,"_ the local news broadcaster stated.

"Hey Arthur!" Merlin shouted from the living room. "Come look at this!"

Arthur rushed out from the kitchen where he'd been pouring himself a cup of coffee and plunked himself down next to Merlin. "What's going on?"

"I don't know but…the leader of the United Nations is addressing the world," Merlin said. "Whatever it is, this is big. Maybe this is the sign we've been looking for. Maybe this will be what you've come back for?"

The television feed changed to show a podium with the United Nations flag upon it. Arthur had read up on the United Nations and had thought it sounded like a wonderful idea, although he had questioned as to why it seemed somewhat ineffectual, in his opinion.

Then the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, stepped up to the podium and addressed the world.

 _"Ladies and Gentlemen,"_ he said in heavily accented English _. "It has been brought to my attention that our world is facing an unprecedented crisis."_

Arthur gripped Merlin's hand.

 _"I do not wish to alarm you, but we need all citizens to be prepared for this crisis,"_ the Secretary-General continued. _"We have been alerted to the fact that a new, highly contagious, viral form of leukemia, a form of cancer, has begun to spread throughout the human population. There have been cases reported on every continent and we have been unable to contain it."_

"Oh my word," Merlin gasped. "You were right! Yesterday, when you were asking me about cancer. How did you know?"

Arthur shook his head. "I don't know, Love. It just struck me as odd that cancers seemed to increase after all the Alphas and Omegas were gone."

 _"We are asking all citizens to remain indoors,"_ Ban Ki-Moon continued. _"We are working around the clock to find either a cure or an inoculation against this threat. Until then, you must limit your contact with others. We will be setting up aid across the world to make sure people have supplies of food and water."_

"Merlin!" Arthur gasped. "Your magic! Do you think there is anything you do against this plague?"

"I'm not sure. I'd have to be able to work with someone who has been infected," Merlin shrugged. "I doubt they'd let me near any of them. I'm sure all known cases have been quarantined by now."

"Can't you use your magic to make them think you have access?" Arthur urged.

Merlin nodded. "You're right. Hah, maybe that's why you came back. You're the idea man!"

Arthur pushed Merlin playfully.

"Alright first thing I need to do is find out where the closest victims of this outbreak are being kept," Merlin said, pulling his laptop to his lap from where it sat on the coffee table.

Several hours later, Merlin knew where to go, and he and Arthur had put a plan in place in order to get to the quarantined facility. Merlin used his magic to fashion them disguises. Merlin was dressed as a doctor and Arthur was dressed as an orderly.

Merlin had far more medical knowledge and he'd been keeping up as much as possible over the past fifteen hundred years as a way to keep his mind occupied while he had been waiting for Arthur. Even without his magic, Merlin could have more easily passed as a doctor just from his knowledge alone.

The facility where they were keeping the quarantined victims was just outside of London, so Merlin and Arthur got into Merlin's car. Merlin drove as Arthur hadn't felt ready to learn how to drive just yet.

Using his magic, Merlin got them past every quarantine checkpoint in and outside of London. Upon reaching the facility, they managed to gain entrance easily with the help of Merlin's sorcery.

Arthur laughed every time Merlin successfully ensorcelled his way past a checkpoint. "I honestly still don't understand why my father ever banned magic."

"We've had that discussion at least a hundred times," Merlin laughed.

"I know but every time you do it, it still puts me in awe, Love," Arthur said.

Soon they were walking into the quarantine ward, after having gone through all the necessary decontamination procedures. Merlin looked at the charts of several random victims, before drawing a vial of their blood and checking their vital signs.

Merlin had a wonderful bedside manner, smiling and trying to keep the patients he interacted with calm, reassuring them that they were doing everything they could.

Merlin then took the blood samples back to the lab within the facility and began working, using Arthur as his aide, helping him prepare glass slides of the infected blood so he could study it under a microscope and run a variety of other tests.

Merlin cast a spell around them both so they could work without being disturbed. The other technicians in the lab completely ignored their presence, which Arthur felt was a bit eerie.

Merlin also used his magic to probe the blood and on a whim he took a vial of both his and Arthur's blood as well and ran the some more tests.

"Oh my Lord," Merlin finally exclaimed after several hours of studying, checking and rechecking the test results, startling Arthur awake from where he'd fallen asleep in a nearby chair. "I think I know what's going on. I need to do some more research first to confirm my findings."

Merlin packed up all the blood samples, and printed out his tests results and findings before they headed back into London.

"What have you discovered?" Arthur asks as they drove back into the city.

"I need to confirm some data first," Merlin said. "I don't want to speculate about this until I'm absolutely sure."

...

Once they are back in their flat, Arthur first insisted that Merlin gets some sleep. Merlin places the blood samples into their refrigerator, against Arthur's protests, and then joins his mate in bed.

The next morning Arthur wakes up alone in a cold bed. "Merlin?" he calls out.

"I'm in the living room!" Merlin replies.

Arthur gets up and finds his mate on the living room floor, with a laptop on his lap, their printer plugged in within arm's reach, and hundreds of sheets of paper strewn around him in a semi-circle.

"How long have you been up?" Arthur asks as he wanders over to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee.

"Dunno," Merlin replied. "I couldn't sleep. I had to corroborate my findings."

"And have you?" Arthur asked, leaning against the archway to the kitchen and smiling at his tousle-haired mate.

Merlin looked up at him happily. "Yeah, I think I have!"

"Well come and tell me over coffee," Arthur suggested.

Merlin got up and came over to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee and they both situated themselves on the couch.

Merlin took a couple of grateful sips of the coffee before beginning. "So last night at the lab I discovered something in the tests I ran. When I applied your blood and my blood to the infected blood, it seemed to eradicate the cancer in the blood."

"Well, that's good, right?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, and no. You and I don't have enough blood to spread throughout the world and cure everyone," Merlin said.

"Oh," Arthur sounded disappointed. "Yeah I guess I am a bit attached to my blood."

"Well I had a theory as to why our blood was having an effect," Merlin continued. "I ran several more tests and I was right. It's the Alpha and Omega pheromones and hormones that's destroying the cancer."

"So what does that mean exactly?" Arthur looked confused.

"That's what I've been researching," Merlin explained. "I tried to correlate known reports of cancer, and other illnesses, to Alpha, Beta and Omega population numbers."

"I thought you said that these people don't even know what Alphas and Omegas are?" Arthur looked more confused.

"They don't, but there are clues in the histories that they have misunderstood or misinterpreted," Merlin continued. "There were several known increases in the cases of cancer in areas known for low to no Alpha and Omega presence in the past. Also the Black Plague was one of the first bad outbreaks of disease after the majority of Alphas and Omegas died out."

"So you think that because there are no Alphas or Omegas, spreading around all our pheromones, the betas are unable to fight off these cancers?" Arthur asked, beginning to understand.

"Yes, exactly!" Merlin said. "So now we have a two-fold problem. We need to be able to find a way to replicate our pheromones and hormones and spread it across the beta population to stop the current epidemic. Then we will need to find a way to repopulate the Alpha and Omega populations."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Arthur asked.

"Well," Merlin grinned. "I have also been researching why Alphas and Omegas died out, and why they died out at the same time as magic."

"What do you think caused it?" Arthur asked.

"Unfortunately, I think your father was the catalyst," Merlin said apologetically. "He had so many magic users killed during his reign. He sent his soldiers far and wide, even into other lands, to hunt down and kill magic users."

"And magic is tied to Alphas and Omegas?" Arthur asked.

Merlin nodded. "Yes. The same genes that cause someone to have magic, will also determine if they are born an Omega or not. It's why your father was so successful in nearly eradicating magic use…all of us were born Omega."

"All Omega's have magic?" Arthur asked incredulously.

"To one degree or another, I believe so," Merlin nodded. "In most it was probably weak or latent, but some of us were born with more powerful magic."

"Like yourself?" Arthur smiled at him.

"Yes," Merlin nodded. "Now I also am beginning to believe that your father did…something…to try and prevent new magic users to be born. He didn't understand the Omega/magic connection and Omega fertility rates dropped. I tested my blood and I'm missing some key markers that are affecting my fertility."

Arthur got up in frustration and paced the room. "So something my father did, is why you and I can't have a family?!"

"I'm sorry, Love," Merlin apologized. Merlin knew that Arthur had always respected his father. He hadn't agreed with Uther on his witch hunt against magic users, but Uther had always had his son's respect. "He couldn't have known it would have affected you."

"So can it be fixed?" Arthur asked.

Merlin nodded. "Now that I know what's wrong I think so. If I can reverse it, we can start a family. Perhaps repopulate the Alpha and Omega populations."

"Wait, so you're proposing you and I? That we'll be like the Alpha and Omega Adam and Eve?" Arthur looked shocked.

"Something like that, yeah!" Merlin said smiling.

"Is that even possible?" Arthur asked.

"Well, I always did want a large family," Merlin joked making Arthur roll his eyes at him. "Look we can work out the logistics later. First I need to put all of this evidence together and we need to present it before the United Nations. We have to let them know about the Alphas and Omegas, why we're important and why we need to repopulate."

"Can't you just cast a spell to do all that?" Arthur asked.

"No, even my magic isn't powerful enough to influence the entire world," Merlin chuckled. "You prat!"

Arthur shoved his mate playfully before pulling him into a loving embrace.

They now had a crisis to solve and a lot of planning to do, but for a moment, Arthur just wanted to hold his love in his arms.


	4. Presenting the Evidence

Merlin took a week put together all his evidence and findings and then he and Arthur made their way to the United Nations offices that were located in London.

As they entered the building they were immediately surrounded by guards. "The entire city is under quarantine; how did you get here?"

"We may have a solution to the crisis," Merlin blurted out. "Please, can we speak with someone in charge?"

The guard who had addressed them spoke into his radio and after several moments nodded at something coming from his ear piece.

"Alright, we're to show you up once you've been through decontamination," he said.

"Look, we're immune," Merlin protested.

"Doesn't matter, we can't take any chances," the guard apologized, leading the two of them down a hallway. "What's in the bag?"

"It's all the research and evidence we have showing a possible solution to this crisis," Arthur replied.

"Well give it here," the guard gestured. "The decontamination procedure would likely ruin it all."

Arthur and Merlin were forced to strip completely naked, given goggles and sent through a chemical shower. They were then given clothes that reminded Merlin of hospital scrubs before being given their bags back and escorted deeper into the facility.

They were led into what looked very much like an interrogation room and asked to sit and wait at the table in the center.

Once they were alone again, Arthur let out a frustrated growl. "Was all that really necessary?"

Merlin nodded. "They're scared. This is probably one of the worst health crisis since the Black Plague."

"I'm glad I missed out on that one," Arthur sighed.

After what felt like an eternity, several people filed into the room, two men in suits and two who were clearly scientists of some kind, still wearing their lab coats.

"I'm Agent Bradley, this is Agent Morgan," the one agent said as introduction. "The lab coats are just here to make sure what you're presenting is scientifically sound."

Merlin took a deep breath. "This is all going to sound extremely insane," Merlin confessed. "In the short term, I believe a combination of hormones and pheromones from myself and Arthur could eradicate the cancer. A longer-term solution will be required and we know what to do, but that's where the crazy part comes in."

Merlin pulled out his data from the blood samples he'd worked on and showed them to the scientists. "Wow, he's right. Their extracted hormones and pheromones in combination do seem to eradicate the cancer. How could this even be possible…?"

Merlin shook his head. "That's where the crazy part comes in."

"How did you figure out that you could cure this?" the scientist asked. "What makes you different?"

Merlin and Arthur looked at each other and Merlin shrugged. "As I said, this part is what's going to sound insane to you, but please hear us out."

Merlin proceeded to explain about Alphas and Omegas, explaining that now the world was populated only by Betas, and how they needed Alpha and Omega pheromones in the air in order to fight off more serious illnesses, like the current outbreak of infectious leukemia that was spreading throughout the world.

"There was a program to eradicate Omegas fifteen hundred years ago and it ultimately led to the dying out of all Alphas and Omegas," Merlin explained. "Because of that the world's Beta population has been subjected to plagues, each one worse than the last."

"Assuming we believe you, why were the Omegas being wiped out?" Agent Bradley asked.

"Because Omegas also carry an ability to do magic," Merlin scowled. "Magic was banned and all magic users…sorcerers, enchanters, druids, witches and warlocks were hunted and many were killed."

"This isn't in any written history," Agent Morgan continued. "How do you both know so much about this?"

"Because," Merlin began. "We were alive fifteen hundred years ago. I am a sorcerer and an Omega. Arthur is my mate. My Alpha. We are bonded for eternity."

To make his point, Merlin produced a ball of fire in his hand, his eyes glowing golden, making the agents and scientists alike jump back. Just as quick as he conjured the flame, Merlin extinguished it.

"Oh and I should mention that I'm immortal and Arthur here has risen from the dead," Merlin smiled. "And before you ask, yes, we are _that_ Arthur and Merlin."

"It was prophesied that I would come back when Albion needed me most," Arthur said, putting on his most regal airs. "I came back because of this crisis. Merlin, my mate, and I can help you stop this and save Albion and the entire world."

The agents looked at each other and then at the scientists. "What do you two think about all this?"

The taller brunette straightened his glasses and took a deep breath. "Well the notion sounds ridiculous, but I cannot ignore the findings here. Naturally we will need to run our own tests to verify…"

"One more thing," Merlin interjected. "Whatever Arthur's father was doing to eradicate Omegas, it also affected our fertility rates. I have never been able to conceive a child. I was hoping once we solve this current crisis that someone could help with that. If we can begin to repopulate the world's Alpha and Omega populations, it would reduce the likelihood of something like this happening again."

"Wait, your fertility?" Agent Morgan asked. "You're male, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm male," Merlin acknowledged. "Both male and female Omegas can bear children and we can only be impregnated by Alphas, although some pregnancies were known to occur between a Beta and Omega as well."

"You mentioned Arthur's Father?" Agent Bradley queried.

"Yes, Uther Pendragon, King of Camelot before me," Arthur replied.

"So you're really claiming to be _the_ King Arthur of Camelot?" Agent Bradley asked.

Arthur nodded. "As ridiculous as that sounds, yes, I am."

"And you're claiming to be an…Alpha?" the shorter scientist said, pushing part of her hair back behind her ear.

" _YES_ ," Arthur growled in his full Alpha Voice.

That had an immediate effect, with Merlin cowing and whimpering submissively, and all the Betas in the room instinctively doing the same.

When the Betas recovered themselves they seemed shocked. "Wait, what just happened there?" Agent Morgan asked.

"He used his Alpha Voice," Merlin smiled smugly. "I know you've never heard one before but you still have the instinct to submit to it."

"That's…disturbing," Agent Bradley said, looking visibly shaken.

"So what's next?" Merlin asked.

"We'd need to bring you into our lab for further testing," the taller scientist said. "Both for the current crisis and to perhaps help solve your long-term problem."

"Yeah, alright," Merlin agreed. "Just keep in mind I'm a sorcerer and I've been alive for fifteen hundred years. I've managed to study a lot in that time so I'll know if you are trying to do anything wonky with us."

The two scientists looked nervously at each other. "Alright, duly noted."

...

As they were escorted towards the laboratory, Merlin held Arthur's hand. "I hope we can reverse whatever Uther did to us. I'm pretty sure we can, but I will need their help to do it. Can you imagine, me pregnant with your pups?"

"That would be marvelous, my Love," Arthur sighed happily.

The shorter scientist turned around and looked at them shyly. "My name's Gwendolyn, by the way," she said introducing herself. "Or Gwen for short. Whatever happened to…Guinevere?"

"Guinevere? You mean Morgana's handmaiden?" Arthur asked furrowing his brows.

"Um, no Queen Guinevere, daughter of King Leodegrance, and your wife," Gwendolyn looked confused.

"I never took a wife, although my father tried his best to arrange one," Arthur shrugged. "Merlin and I were bonded when I was still a prince. My father personally witnessed the bonding ceremony. Merlin and I imprinted upon each other the moment we first met. Little did I know that Merlin was not only a powerful sorcerer, but also a Dragonlord."

"A Dragonlord?" the other scientist asked. "Now you're also claiming there were dragons?"

Merlin sighed. "Yes, there were dragons, but that's a long story."

"So, did Guinevere ever marry?" Gwen asked cautiously.

Arthur looked thoughtful for a moment. "I believe she married Sir Lancelot, didn't she, Love?"

Merlin nodded. "Yeah that's right. It's been so long, I'd almost forgotten myself and I attended the ceremony."

"So she married Lancelot and you never threatened to have her killed?" Gwen said in shock. "They really did get the legends wrong."

Merlin grinned. "Yeah they did. Arthur's court historians were a bit shite, unfortunately. I've tried to correct the histories but no one ever wanted to believe me."

...

They finally arrived at the lab. Merlin didn't like the look of the place at all. There were several metal tables, all with strange looking restraints and stirrups attached. The walls were lined with dozens of medical implements, many looking quite painful.

"This looks a bit like a well-lit torture chamber," Merlin laughed nervously.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that," Gwen said. "Look we don't want to harm you, I swear, but we do have a round of tests we'd like to perform."

"Explain everything to Merlin first before you perform anything," Arthur instructed.

"Yes, of course," Gwen blushed. "Should I be addressing you as _Your Highness_?"

Arthur chuckled. "No. I am no longer King, Arthur will be fine."

"I suppose I should introduce myself as well," the taller scientist said. "I'm Lester. Arthur, can you sit on a table while I explain to Merlin what tests we wish to run?"

Arthur did as he was instructed heading over towards the nearest exam table when he heard a scuffle. As he looked up he saw Merlin struggling with the two scientists as one brandished a needle, trying to inject Merlin with something.

Arthur immediately tried to rush forward, but the table he was on, had sensed his presence had had already clamped his legs in place. Arthur roared in frustration as he saw his mate struggling, unable to assist.

Then Merlin spoke the ancient words of a spell, his eyes glowing and Gwen and Lester were flung away from him, both crashing against opposite walls, hard.

Next Merlin waved his hand, speaking another spell and tore open the bindings holding Arthur down. Merlin turned back to the staggering scientists then, pinning them both to a wall with the sheer force of his magic.

"Will either of you require any more demonstrations of my power, or will I have to keep you restrained?" Merlin asked.

Lester and Gwen shook their heads meekly.

"Alright, that's better," Merlin said. "From now on, I'm in charge and I will tell you which tests to run. Is that clear?"

The scientists nodded in agreement.

"That's better," Merlin groused. "I had a feeling you had believed us a little too easily, so thankfully I was prepared."

"Well it seems all so preposterous," Gwen explained. "I was sure you were complete loons and I just wanted to sedate you both so we could study your blood and synthesize and antidote."

"You can't synthesize this," Merlin reminded her. "Trust me, I'd actually tried that once when I was trying to figure out my infertility."

"So, you really are capable of getting pregnant?" Lester asked.

"Well, that's what my body is designed for yes. All Omegas are born to be bred by an Alpha, and Alphas are born to breed an Omega," Merlin explained. "In Betas like yourselves, only males can impregnate and only females can bear childre. For Omegas, both males and females can bear children, and in Alphas both males and females are capable of impregnating an Omega of either gender."

"I suggest we focus on the current epidemic," Arthur said. "And no more trying to attack us, or else."

"Yeah, you really don't want to know what else I can do with my magic," Merlin grinned. "I once helped defeat an entire army."

"Yeah, defeated the army, but failed to save your mate," Arthur teased.

A sad look crossed Merlin's face and he crossed over to Arthur and embraced him, burying his head into the crook of his Alpha's neck. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, I was only teasing, Love," Arthur soothed. "You know that was fated to happen, there was nothing you could have done to prevent it. It was our destiny. I'm back now, alright?"

Merlin nodded. "Still sorry though. It broke my heart when you died in my arms that day."

"I know, Love," Arthur said. "It broke my heart to have to leave you."

Lester cleared his throat and Merlin and Arthur separated, blushing. "Sorry about that. When an Omega gets stressed they seek out their Alpha for comfort sometimes."

Merlin walked over to one of the lab tables filled with equipment. "Right then, I think it's time we get started. First thing we need is to draw blood samples from Arthur and myself for analysis. Then we'll need to get an idea of how much we'll need per person. I know usually we'd have to wait eight weeks between blood donations but with magic I think I can cut that down to four. I am hoping only a tiny amount will be sufficient so we can cure the maximum number of people per donation."

...

With that they all went to work, Merlin taking charge and Arthur once again playing assistant, while Lester and Gwen observed. Arthur also kept a very close to the two scientists, not trusting they wouldn't try and attack them again.

Several hours later they finally had the solution. They were certain it would take only ten microliters per person of their combined blood to eradicate the cancer. That meant they could cure up to 100,000 victims every four weeks.

Next they had to test it and that meant heading back out towards the quarantine facility outside of London. Lester arranged for transportation and the agents from earlier joined them as well.

When they arrived they talked to the head doctor and identified the patient who was closest to death to try their cure on. Gwen injected the dosage into the patient's IV and they just sat back and waited.

Arthur and Merlin were exhausted and they were given cots to rest on. However, they didn't both dare sleep at the same time, so they took turns, Arthur letting his mate sleep first, as he was likely to be needed more than the Alpha would be.

Several hours later Lester came to get Merlin. "I think we did it. It seems to have worked. The patient is completely cancer free, and it seems we can't reinfect her again either. The cure truly works!"

Merlin smiled. "That's Marvelous! Then we should proceed with getting our blood collected and the dosages prepared for the first batch. How wide spread is the infection? What are the current totals for infected?"

"It's spread to nearly a half-million worldwide," Gwen said. "The good news is it seems to have a long incubation period and it takes a long time before people get close to death. I think we should put those longest infected on the top priority list for the first batch."

Merlin nodded. "Yeah and as long as my magic works so that we can donate more frequently, that means it will still take us at least five months to cure everyone, assuming more don't break out before then."

"Well then we'll have our work cut out for us," Lester said.

"Best we get started then, eh?" Merlin smiled and went to tell Arthur the good news.


	5. GoodBye

This is just a note to all the people who read/enjoy my stories here that I have decided to post exclusively on AO3 (ArchiveofOurOwn) going forward. All my stories that are here are there already so you just have to look for my username to find them.

Why am I leaving this site? For many reasons but the primary ones:

The posting process here is a lot more complex

This site doesn't allow me to flag potential triggers in my stories or set keywords/tags

The "reviews" vs. ability to comment here doesn't foster communication between reader and writer

I'll leave my profile up for a while but I will eventually completely remove/delete it so if you really like my content please go to AO3.


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